Secret Love - Brenda Jackson Madaris Family Saga

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laughed. “I have to admit it’s not the neat, clean place it was when I arrived three days ago. But I promise to get things back to normal.” A huge grin covered her face. “I had so much fun baking.”

      Jake chuckled and nodded. There was even a dab of flour on her nose and cheek. “Yeah, I can tell.”

      Diamond looked up at him. Even sitting on a horse, he looked tall, lean and muscular. There were some qualities about him that reached out to her: strength and capability. “I was just about to sit down and enjoy some of the fruits of my labor. Would you like to join me for cookies and milk?” she found herself asking him.

      Jake looked at her thoughtfully as he shifted in his saddle. Common sense told him to decline her offer. After all, it was pretty close to dinnertime and as usual Blaylock had probably prepared a feast. But the thought of sitting down at a table, eating cookies and drinking milk with Diamond was a whole lot nicer than sitting down to dinner with Blaylock and a few of the men who lived on the ranch. He glanced at the cabin before glancing back down at her. “Cookies and milk, huh?”

      Diamond smiled. “Yes. Fresh-baked cookies and a tall, cold glass of milk. You can’t go wrong with that, Jacob.”

      Jake nodded as he dismounted, thinking that in truth, he could easily go wrong with just about anything involving Diamond. He followed her inside the cabin, gritting his teeth and calling himself all kinds of names for having such a weak resistance to her.

      The echo of his boots sounded on the hardwood floor when he stepped inside the kitchen and glanced around. Pots, pans and dishes were piled in the sink and a dust of flour covered the floor. For once the kitchen actually looked used. When he had built the cabin, he had added additional square footage in the kitchen on the assumption that it would get plenty of use. But Jessie had had other plans.

      Diamond saw Jake glance around and mistook the meaning of his silence. “I’ll clean up the mess,” she said warily as she watched his expression.

      Jake gave no sign of having heard her as he continued to look around the kitchen. He even noticed the cookbook lying on the counter. His six sisters-in-law had gone to great lengths to collect all those recipes for that cookbook and put it together. It had been a labor of love and just one of the many gifts his family had lovingly given; their contribution to the home he had built for his wife.

      “Jacob, I said that I’d clean up my mess,” Diamond repeated softly, slanting a glance at his rugged profile.

      Jake turned and met her gaze. She was looking at him with intense concern, and he saw an apology shimmering in her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with how this place looks. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, it looks just like a kitchen should.”

      He smiled down at her. “I’m dying to try out those cookies to see if they were worth the fight. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go wash up.” He held her gaze for another quick second before abruptly moving toward the mudroom.

      “You know,” Jake commented to Diamond a short time later, “you may want to consider a career in baking if you ever decide to give up acting. These cookies are delicious.” They were seated across from each other at a table in the kitchen by the window.

      Diamond smiled, appreciating his compliment. She had tried baking for Samuel once or twice. He had laughed at her effort. “It was really nothing. I simply followed the recipe.” She motioned to the leather-bound cookbook lying on the counter. “Whoever put that book together did a fantastic job.”

      Unable to help himself, Jake reached for another cookie. It seemed he had eaten a couple of dozen of them already. “My sisters-in-law will appreciate hearing that. It was a joint effort between the six of them and was intended to be a gift to the woman who was my wife at the time.”

      Diamond nodded, hearing the slight bitterness in his voice. Sterling had told her that he was a divorcé. “Did she forget to take it with her when she left?”

      “Nope.” Jake’s eyes narrowed. “She didn’t want it. She didn’t want anything to remind her of this place.”

      Diamond knew it was probably none of her business, but she couldn’t help asking. “Why? It’s beautiful here.”

      Coolly, Jake’s eyes met Diamond’s inquisitive ones. “She didn’t think so. She hated this place. She was a city girl from Boston, and married me hoping she could one day convince me that ranching wasn’t what I was good at, and that I’d eventually move with her back to Boston. On the other hand, I believed that one day I’d be able to convince her that ranching was what I was good at, and that she would be happy here. In the end, we both lost out. She went back to Boston and I remained here. End of story.”

      Diamond’s eyes grew thoughtful as she watched Jake take another bite of his cookie. She doubted in all actuality that that was the end of the story. It was all he cared to share with her at the moment.

      “So tell me. What brought you by? Did Sterling ask you to check up on me again?”

      Drawn as if by magnet, his gaze locked with hers. “No. Coming out here was my idea. I was wondering how you were getting along.”

      Diamond smiled. “Other than my fight with the flour today, I’ve been fine. On my first day I mostly slept in, and yesterday I decided to explore the great outdoors. I even went berry picking. I collected two pailfuls.”

      Jake nodded. So Lowell had actually seen her near the south pastures picking berries after all. “What do you plan to do with all those berries?”

      Diamond lifted a brow as if the answer to that question should have been obvious to him. Since it wasn’t, she decided to respond. “I’m going to make pies.”

      “Pies?”

      She nodded. “I came across a pretty good recipe in that book. I believe I picked enough berries for at least ten pies. They will be my gift to your men. That’s the very least I can do for their willingness to be discreet about me being here.”

      Jake fell silent as he studied her. He was astounded that she was again thinking about the men who worked for him. He shook his head. He wasn’t sure if any of them would be able to handle receiving a piece of pie made by Diamond Swain’s very own hands.

      He downed the last of his milk, knowing it was time for him to leave. The last thing he wanted to do was to get any ideas that Diamond was different from most sophisticates that he knew.

      Jake stood. “Thanks for the cookies and milk.”

      “You’re welcome, and if you’re out this way again, Jacob, do stop by. I enjoyed your company.”

      Jake looked at her and felt that same sizzle he always felt around her. He was attracted to her, way too attracted. Suddenly he jerked his attraction back like a whiplash, refusing to go there. It had been years since he’d had woman troubles and he intended to keep it that way. His love affair was with Whispering Pines. She was the only lady in his life right now. He felt content in knowing she would always accept him for what he was and not try making him into something he was not.

      “I doubt I’ll have time to drop by again. There’s plenty of work to do around here. I can’t very well expect my men to pull their share of the load if I’m not pulling mine,” he said curtly.

      Because he had presented his blunt statement like he had expected some sort of response, Diamond said, “Of course you can’t. And I apologize if I’ve kept you from your work, Jacob.”

      Jake didn’t like the idea that she thought she had kept him from his work. Then again, he thought maybe it was for the best for her to think that way. He couldn’t afford to share another quaint and cozy meal with her again, even one of cookies and milk. It was best if he went back to his original plan to keep his distance. Especially since each time he saw her he couldn’t help but wonder how her mouth would taste under his.

      “The next time I talk to Sterling, I’ll let him know you’re doing okay. I’m sure he’ll want to know.” He

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